Month: November 2016

Recently the interest in virtual reality has come to life again after having been dormant since the 90’s. Since then much has happened in terms of both hardware and software. A couple of years ago companies and enthusiasts started showing up around the world presenting different solutions that might be able to deliver what the technology was unable to do twenty years ago.

In 2016, we have seen the launch of three major VR bets. Oculus, which is backed by Facebook, was the first to launch this new generation of headsets in the form of the Oculus Rift. The game company Valve in cooperation with the HTC is behind the Vive and during the autumn came PlayStation VR from Sony.

In addition to these quite expensive and relatively sophisticated systems, there has been a series of cheaper solutions with headsets in plastic or cardboard that you can use to watch VR apps on your smartphone.The development takes place primarily within the computer game and entertainment industry, but interest is also evident from research, education, arts and other areas.

At Humlab we are involved in several projects where we test the technology and explore what it could be used for. As part of Humlab’s short course series, we provide introductory courses and workshops where participants will have the opportunity to try out the technology and discuss its capabilities and limitations. The first course was given on November 16 and more chances will come in the spring term.